Urban Exploration - The abandoned Disco

We received photos from a traveler and compiled them into a historical summary.

As of July 2025, this location is no longer an urbex site; the premises are currently being renovated to house a new business.

An urbex visit to an abandoned nightclub is fairly uncommon, and this one turned out to be quite amusing. I had been warned: "You know, even when it's open, it’s usually pretty bleak and filthy, so in an abandoned state..." Yet, overall, I found it rather beautiful—filled with endless vestiges of major festive events. The place still echoes with the sheer happiness it brought to countless young people. Let’s go through a bit of history before we walk through the halls.

It is very dark—an undeniable fact for which I was well prepared. Almost all the photos were taken by flashlight, which kills the ambiance of beautiful raking light and so on. But how could it be otherwise? Isn't that, intrinsically, the point?

This nightclub closed due to retirement, or rather, it’s slightly more complex than that. When the manager left, a buyer was at the gate. However, the municipality pushed to block the takeover because of noise complaints. It’s a fact that the bass must have hit hard. Indeed, while I was inside, I jumped every time a neighbor entered their house. The slamming of car doors gave the vivid impression that it was happening right there, just outside. Still, this story of a blocked takeover is only a rumor told by neighbors; I found no written record to confirm it.

The club opened in 1991. Initially, Jean-Paul bought the place with the simple intention of making it a small restaurant with a hall and a kitchen. Later, driven by motivation, he added a tea room, then Sunday afternoon tea dances. As the years passed, through sheer hard work, it became a highly renowned nightclub in the region, drawing a young crowd that was both motivated and grateful.

The nightclub is organized into—to put it simply—four large halls: a vast main room, a large bar area, the Titanic, and Alcatraz. To this, we must add a curious "aquarium," which I assume was nothing more than a smoking room.

As for the main room, it has a Western-saloon theme; it strikes me as a classic choice. But the Titanic—what fun! Not only is it original, but the talent behind all those hand-painted murals is remarkable. One might expect rushed sketches, but honestly, it’s far from that. It’s meticulous and, moreover, full of humor: the guy checking passports at the entrance, the guy trying to plug the leaks, the bar shaped like an aquarium, the porthole tables... Talent, talent, talent.

I received the following testimony from Elodie, a former regular: "For the record, this place was a guinguette for seniors on Sundays from 1 PM to 8 PM, I think. We used to go there with friends to grab a drink and have a laugh. Jean-Paul, the boss, was always there, no matter the day or hour. If the place was open, JP was there. This club worked well because entry was free, bottles were cheap, and you could get in wearing sneakers—it was a real country club. At the entrance, in the 'bocal' (the bowl), there was a snack bar; upstairs was the Titanic for the 'old folks' (over 25, lol), and Alcatraz was for the techno-heads... in short, it was an era, and it’s sad for today's youth that the place is closed."

And a testimony from Jimmy: "I knew and immediately recognized the place. It was the kind of club where you head out with 5 friends and end up drinking with 10 or 15 people (or more). The local spot!! Entry was free, everything ran on bar sales, and the prices were lower than clubs 30 minutes away. So it worked—and not just with the locals. Kids would drive 30 or 40 minutes to dance to 80s hits in the Titanic or vibrate to all kinds of mixes in the central hall. Four rooms, four atmospheres!! A unique place, full of history—our history."

The closure took place in 2016, and the retirement of the owner is a verified fact. A Facebook "memories" page is still active, testifying, years later, to the popularity of this place. According to close sources, the building was sold in 2022.

I found the location to be memorable because a true identity shines through. The management must be disappointed to see the building rotting and withering away; the neighbors are likely relieved to have a bit more rural quiet back. I hesitated for a long time before going there because it is radically out of the way, in the middle of nowhere—for an Ardèche local like me, it was quite a trek. But the traveler was not disappointed.

Aussi incroyable que ça soit, la personne qui contrôle le passeport, c'est le portrait de Jean-Paul, le gestionnaire du lieu. Quelle incroyable immense génialissime qualité + humour. Trop d'amour pour ce lieu !